Back in Chennai

After savoring and exploring a few days in the busy Metropolis of Mumbai, we are back in Chennai. Mumbai was a lot of fun! We walked through some of the main streets admiring the colonial arquitecture and made our way through some of the busy bazars. Upon completion of our rainy 10-day Vipassana course, we took a train to Aurangubad seeking some dry weather. We took a day trip to the major sightseeing sights in the area including the Ellora caves temples which include Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monasteries chapels and temples. They all were beautifully carved into the rock. We are back in Pradeep's home town for a couple of days to get some rest and plan the remaining of our trip. Pradeep is happy to be back to a place where he can understand the language. We struggled in Mumbai where Hindi is the main language and somehow manage to make our way through the trains and restaurants. Daniela is also happy to be back in South India where she can get delicious idli and dosa. :)

Monsoon Wetting

We successfully completed our 10-day Vipassana course at Dhamma Giri which is the main Vipassana center in the world, taught by S.N. Goenka. The center is located in a small town named Igatpuri. It rained non stop from day 1 to day 10 of the course -- we were frequently wet and got a real "Monsoon wetting!" Luckily Daniela purchased an umbrella and Pradeep purchased a raincoat which kept them fairly dry. After the course we found out that Igatpuri is the second rainiest place in India -- the rainiest place is Cherapunji which is in the Guiness Book for the rainiest place in the world (467 inches per season) -- couldn't find the amount for Igatpuri. Let's just say the rains were torrential and almost non-stop, with high wind gusts. Miraculously it did not rain on Day 0 as we arrived to the center nor on Day 10 "Metta Day" nor on Day 11 as we left the center. It stormed with heavy rain and strong winds at all other times. We concluded the rainfall mirrored the storms within the meditation halls.
More yet to come...

Incommunicado

Daniela and Pradeep will be our of touch for the next 11 to 12 days.
We will be attending a 10-day Vipassana Meditation Course in Igatpuri, North of Mumbai.

The course ends July 26 so it may be a couple of days after that before we find an Internet cafe.
All the best until then.

Traffic

Cars! The road has far fewer bicycles (and no cows!) today than 20 years ago. But traffic is heavier. The road is jammed with tiny little Maruti Suzuki cars, Hyundai Santros, etc. These subcompacts are a sleek and nimble testament to India's vibrant and growing yuppie population. Of course, driving is still as chaotic and jaw-dropping. There is little regard for traffic lanes, or for that matter even signal lights. Cars, motorbikes, mopeds, and especially our much beloved 3 wheeled autorickshaws weave and dodge in a chaotic manner that defies logic. The hand-eye coordination of the drivers puts to shame the best 8 year old videogamers in the US. Interestingly, in the 4 days we've been here, and despite that traffic behavior, we have not seen a single accident - not even a fender bender. Compare that to the daily accident or two that we used to see in Minneapolis, despite the low traffic density and lane maintenance. What is the secret, we wonder?

Indian Progress

India has changed so much since the last time I (Pradeep) really spent any time here. Although I was here in 2002, it was just for a couple of weeks, and I spent the whole time mostly at home. Before that, I was living here for almost a year, in 1990-1991. So, it has been 18 years. This time, Dani and I have been running around town, so I have had a chance to really see things. So much has changed. India has really progressed.

In the 4 days we've been here there have been no power outages or even brown outs. The airport was massively expanded and modernized. In 1990, I arrived in a vast and dingy hall. Customs consisted of a single middle-aged man dressed in a drab olive-green uniform, decorated at the shoulders with gold braid (someone's idea of irony, no doubt). The rickety little wooden writing desk at which he sat would creak and threaten to fall over as his prodigious belly pressed against it with each breath. The throng of disembarking passengers swarmed around him, jamming their passports at him, as though that would help. He laconically eyed each visa, then directed a baleful glance at the passport holder. Savvy persons might surreptitiously palm him a large denomination, while those less bold waited interminably for him to ask random irrelevant, but officiously worded questions in stilted English. When it was all over and one cleared customs, the dilapidated baggage claim area, with its single carousel, inspired little hope that one's luggage would arrive, and that too intact.

In contrast, this time we arrived to a clean and brightly lit hallway, with white marble floors and air conditioning. The long hallway led to a broad customs area, with a row of booths where clean, young, efficient customs agents welcomed us with a warm smile. Our passports were inspected rapidly, efficiently, and with courtesy. A few quick stamps and we were on our way with cheery wish for a pleasant stay. In baggage claim, although Daniela's bag was delayed, the airport official quickly and professionally processed the tracking paperwork.

Pradeep's relatives

Our first days in India have been very welcoming. Daniela has met several of Pradeep's relatives: Paati (the maternal grandma) and her sons Madhavan uncle, Chandru-mama (uncle), Jikki-mama with their respective wives Kalpana auntie, Rajalakshmi auntie, Shanta manni. She also met a couple of the cousins: Kartik (Madhavan uncle's son) and his wife Subba who have one a 9 year old boy: Easwar. Plus Arvind (Jikki-mama's son).

Everyone has been so kind and welcoming. They all want to see us and have meals with them.

We also had the opportunity to visit one of Pradeep's uncles on his father's side. Venkatu-uncle is 85 years old and is in poor health but was very happy to see us. It has been nice getting over the jet-lag and getting aclimated to India while spending time with family.

Jasmine flowers

Most girls and women wear fresh jasmine flowers on their hair. There are lots of street vendors selling fresh garlands of flowers. Most of the vendors are women, although today to our surpise we saw a man selling flowers outside one of the temples. On my first visit to one of the temple's, Subba, who is the wife of Pradeep's cousin - Kartik, fixed my hair and got me a garland of jasmine flowers. She told Pradeep that he must buy me fresh flowers everyday for my hair. :) We have bought fresh flowers for my day ever since that day. I am hooked on these beautiful flowers. They smell so good and look so nice.

The most fun bus ride!

We decided to take a bus from our hotel to Pradeep's uncle's house. Bus 23C from Thousand Lights to Adayar in Chennai. The bus was packed but we managed to squeeze in. I really mean Squeeze in! It was full of young men who were very cheerful. They were singing, whistling, banging on the bus, running with the bus, climbing on the bus. It was so much fun!! Yes! They were climbing on the bus. They made it look so easy and fun. Ah! It was the best bus ride that I have ever taken.

Shopping for Salwar

Pradeep was born in Chennai and still has many relatives here. His uncles wanted us to visit right away to say hello and of course to meet this new mysterious Mexican girlfriend. Of course, I wanted to make a good impression and I wanted to wear my Indian clothes that were in my lost carry-on. A perfect opportunity for shopping!! We found a shop after getting off our fun bus ride (see fun bus ride posting). It was a small version of a department store like Macy's. They had children, men and women's clothes, accessories and fabrics. I found three possible Salwars: Cotton of course, for the hot weather; short to long sleeve; nice colors and reasonable prices. One of the three fitted perfectly and it was only 799 rupees , approximately $16!! Apparently is a modern style with the pants long enough to be gathered at the bottom. I will have to take a picture and post it online. I think I definitely made a good impression on the family. :)

Dubai to India

Ahhh....Chennai has welcomed us warmly. Pradeep and I (Daniela) had a long flight from JFK to Dubai. We managed to stay awake for most of the flight to Dubai watching three films in a row. :) We were able to finally watch Slumbdog Millionaire and Monsters vs. Aliens! The Dubai Airport itself was a great experience with its beauty and cleanliness. Pradeep warned me that in India, people usually do not stand in lines and he was right. We arrived in Chennai and people started to line up to get through the Swine Flu Check-in Booth (we just had to filled out a form stating that we have no flu symptoms and then they stamp it approving that we are healthy), however after a couple of minutes, the line disappeared and everbody just swarmed to the doors. One must move fast and with the flow. Daniela's luggage did not make it to Chennai. Despite traveling with a carry on, it was too big to fit the standards of a carry on in Emirates airlines. A lady at the Chennai airport, helped us filled a complaint form and took all the information needed to hopefully find my luggage. We arrived to our hotel but our room was not available despite having a reservation and had to wait in the lobby area. Hotel staff must have felt sorry for us so they offered us a small room furnished with a bed and a T.V for us to rest until a room was available for us. After a couple of hours, we were able to get our hotel room We were able to get a couple hours rest to give us enough energy for our first day in Chennai.